The train wreck at Netflix

August 15, 2013

Transcript

-- averaging Carey with CNET here with senior writer Greg -- -- -- covers Netflix.
And it's been a year since the insanity around Netflix -- price hikes and the Qwikster spin off and -- -- talking to employees both past and present.
To give us a look.
And so what went on behind the scenes during this train -- and at a once beloved tech company so how was it like getting people that talking about office.
I don't cover this -- for six years and I've never had anybody give me anything.
Any information inside information anything like that the company until now lots and lots of workers are angry.
At Reed Hastings and how it handled -- price hike everything last year.
The very disappointed.
Well it seems like he was just pushing through with dividing dvds from the company starting quick start.
It's hard to believe that everyone was on board with this was at the culture where people could speak up and say hey we -- they like that they India.
It used to be one person described -- as -- happy go lucky guy but he changed the became more successful.
Reed started. Keeping his own counsel.
He stopped listening to people and he pushed this -- through there -- lots of people try to talk about it.
But he had an idea where about the future right we're going to streaming he wanted to be rated dvds he wanted to do it quickly.
And that was it the push this thing -- is nothing to indicate that it was well thought out than it looks like they just slapped together.
So a year later few days ago we hear this great news about how they have a billion hours of streaming in the month of June.
Now course they also added several more areas to their subscriber list but.
It's not fluff.
Announcement mean to you at a really better off now a year later.
They're trying to work their way back but it metrics like that lets you measure a company like Netflix it is still the same company at its core.
Tells how much you're going subscribers. Tell us how much it costs to obtain from the streaming content.
Because we know what's going not everybody knows these concepts like they really want to help us understand their business -- do that.
Now they have Amazon their -- Hulu is not too far behind cable companies -- that competing factor now what do they have to do.
To go forward.
Here's the here's the chief.
Challenge for Reed Hastings and he's got approved.
He can grow his subscribers. With.
What we that's probably an aluminum being unfair is a very mediocre catalog right go into the streaming and it's -- -- TV reruns.
You have you know -- title films documentaries there's nothing -- nothing new.
Now Netflix is still very cheapest nobody offering a better deal.
Will people to say hey whatever he's got there I'll find something to watch because -- is a lot less expensive than any cable company.
He's got to prove that wouldn't see that the next few quarters.
Thanks Greg for CNET I'm Bridget Carey.